Patient positioning systems engage and support a medical subject undergoing a medical procedure such as a diagnostic procedure, a therapeutic procedure and a surgical procedure. Typically a patient positioning system comprises a support table on which the medical subject is positioned and a drive system for positioning the support table. The process of aligning the medical subject for the medical procedure involves motion of the support table along multiple axis. Therefore, the drive system configured for positioning the support table is desired to be capable of moving the support table along multiple axis.
For moving the support table along multiple axis, the drive system can comprise a plurality of drive assemblies. Each drive assembly can be configured to drive the motion of the support table along a single axis. Conventional methodology of achieving motion of the support table along multiple axis comprises a screw drive assembly for driving motion along X-axis, a rack and pinion drive assembly for driving motion along Y-axis, and a hydraulic drive assembly for driving motion along Z-axis.
The patient positioning system conventionally comprises multiple drive motors as each drive assembly is coupled to a single drive motor in a very complex and inaccessible compact way. The drive motors are expensive and hence using a plurality of independent drive motors may not be an economical option. Moreover, using a plurality of independent drive motors requires sufficient space to facilitate appropriate assembly, maintenance and repair. Another drawback of using multiple drive motors is that the capacity of each drive motor is often underutilized in terms of functioning and idle time.
Hence, there exists a need to provide a simple, compact, reliable, serviceable and cost effective drive system for a patient positioning system.